Author's Notes: Let's see now. I began this story way back in the day, I'm tempted to say over ten years ago. I've taken a break with my original fiction writing and dug up some old works of mine. How could I not resist rewriting and (hopefully) finishing up this one? FFVII is beyond near and dear to my heart, and in picking up this story again, I now remember why I had so much fun writing it! I was a pantser back then (i.e. I didn't outline), I think there's a plot floating around in there. Ah, there definitely is!

Anyway, as of 09/15, I'm still in the process of editing what's there already. And how atrocious it is. I won't add any more chapters (18 so far) until I complete redacting to the latest and greatest. Without further ado ::

Summary: A spunky young woman is transplanted into the world of Final Fantasy VII. Luckily, she's somewhat familiar with the game but is otherwise thrown into a whole new scenario. Scarlet has taken power and an entirely new world is in her sights. But she isn't the only one who seeks that power: an even greater threat lurks, waiting for the right moment to seize and destroy everything.

Characters: As far as I've gotten in the story, we have Scarlet and Heidegger. And Sephiroth. Everyone else, save maybe a few minor characters/npcs may or may not have been in the original FFVII story. Everyone else is an OC.

Setting: This story takes place about a decade after the Meteor incident.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, concepts, etc., from Final Fantasy VII. That's purely Square's and Square's alone.

With as much stealth as she could summon, and willing herself to be invisible, she peeked above the railing. A lone white-coated figure stood by the table across the room with his back to her. And luckily for her, he was very intent on his work. She did a quick glance around the room, her nose twitching from the strong vinegar odor that permeated everything in this room. On top of the pungent stink, it was as frosty in here as the January air outside. Tools and objects were piled randomly on top of the tables and counters. It had to be in here somewhere! All she needed was that one last component and her experiment would be complete and she's graduate with flying colors. At least that's the plan.

Suddenly the professor turned and she jerked back down behind the railing, hoping the unkempt laboratory and its misshapen shadows would obscure her narrow frame. Footsteps. No, they weren't coming towards her, they were walking away! She looked over the railing again and saw the white lab coat disappear into a doorway at the far side of the room. And then everything was bathed in blackness.

Crap, I knew I should've brought a flashlight, she scolded herself as she stood up and stretched. Her long legs easily stepped over the railing and Ellie stumbled her way over to the cabinet where she had last spied the component during class earlier in the morning.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light from the skylights above and she opened the cabinet door and began fumbling through the shelves and racks. Everyone thinks a science lab is the best place for cleanliness and order, but reality, or at least this laboratory, proved that theory incorrect. Ellie cussed under her breath as she squinted in the darkness at the descriptions.

And then she found it. She slipped the compound into her coat pocket. Now, for part two: escapade mission. She leaped over the railing and back to the door she'd come in through. Shit. The professor had locked up. She looked around the room, the skylights being the only other exit. Time for Plan B.

She reached into her left coat pocket. Nothing. She reached into her right coat pocket, and only the compound was in there. Dammit! Screw Plan B. The rope must've fallen out of her pocket when she was running through the parking lot earlier. Now she only had two options: bang on the door for help, or sit down and cry until the morning. Ellie didn't like those options.

She looked up at the skylight. It had to be approximately ten feet off the ground, and no way in hell could she jump that high. Or maybe... a chair on a table could help cover the distance. As quietly as possible in a hopefully sterilized environment, she dragged a table and set a stool atop the center of the table. Trying to keep her balance steady, she climbed the stool and carefully unswiveled the window. Despite feeling quite dizzy, she gripped the sides of the window and holding her breath, she pushed up into the opening as hard as she could.

She got her head and upper torso through, enough to grapple and pull herself through.

And the stool toppled and crashed tremendously on the table below then rolled with another terrific crash to the floor. Oh geez. There is no way in hell no one heard that.

The roof was slanted and Ellie sprinted as lightly as she could in her three year old skate sneakers, praying she wouldn't slip. Which she did, and the snow funneled her to an angled slant where she flew helplessly on her back midair and crashed fantastically into a now un-manicured bush.

Opening her eyes, the tears running down the sides of her face, Ellie checked her treasure in her pocket. Safe. She stood up. No one was around, the parking lot was empty.

Excellent! She began an easy jog back to her dormitory.

"And where exactly were you?" A whiny voice greeted her the moment she closed her door.

"Nothing that would be of your business, my dear friend," Ellie replied.

"Don't call me that."

She shed her jacket and gripped her precious cargo tightly and went to her workstation. Her roommate, English major Jen, could and would never ever remotely understand anything that Ellie did in the name of science, and she made every effort imaginable to make Ellie's university life a living hell. But that was alright. Ellie was working on a very discreet project that would pay this obtuse roomie back for all the aggravation and frustration that had been building up through the semester.

Ellie sat down at her station, not bothering to return the silent glare that had followed her from the bed the moment she'd strode in. Calmly, despite the roiling stew heating up inside her soul, she took out her other ingredients and began tinkering with the dilapidated and peculiar contraption on her desk. She heard Jen rustle from her bed and approach her.

"What the hell is that?"

Ellie ignored her and continued installing the new component. Her skin bristled as Jen stopped to hover behind her. Even though she knew her device through and through, she grimaced and said flatly: "You better not have fucked with my stuff."

"Fuck you! Why would I touch that...thing!"

"It's a dimensional warp machine."

Jen tittered and then guffawed.

Ellie only smiled. "Well if you're so confident in your oh-so-intelligent machinations, would you like to prove my intelligent experiments inadequate?"

"Hell no!"

"So you admit that I am, in fact, a scientific genius."

"If you're such a genius, then what the hell are you doing here?"

"In a room with you, you mean?"

Jen tsked and huffed and tsked again.

Ellie shook her head and carefully aligned the flat round disk on its stand. It had to be precise. Dimensional warp machine...! Don't tell me she really believes that! Ha!

"So how does it work then?"

Ellie turned and looked at Jen, a smirk playing with her eyes. "Oh yeah? You put something here, oh, here, give me your hand."

"No you do it. If it blows up, you can take the brunt."

"Ugh!" Ellie placed her palm on the disk. "You put something here, and then when the projectors align, it should-" The disk was warm! Ellie stopped mid-sentence and lifted her hand, staring at the disk. Why in the world is it getting warm? ... Ah crap.

"What's wrong?"

She's scared..! Ha…eh…hmm... Ellie touched the disk again. It was getting warmer! It wasn't plugged in or anything, what was it reacting to? She grabbed the plate and it wouldn't move. What the hell? She gripped the sides of the disk with both hands and pulled up and hard but as gently as she could.

"Ellie, what's going on? Ellie?"

"Just a little... more..." She strained. Some sort of magnet or something...!

"Ellie? Ellie?!"

Jen's voice was getting fainter. And fainter... She's yelling, isn't she? Ellie turned to look at her friend. Was Jen shrinking?

"Ellie!"

A vignette of blackness swallowed everything in sight, and Ellie let go.